


Alegría

by AJWolfcat



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt of slow burn, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:48:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25611562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJWolfcat/pseuds/AJWolfcat
Summary: After her parents death, Joy Collins must take care of her brother and the small farm they live in. However this is not always easy and one night their lives change drastically.
Relationships: Arthur Morgan/Original Female Character(s), Charles Smith (Red Dead Redemption)/Original Female Character(s), Javier Escuella/Original Female Character(s), Javier Escuella/Reader
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve translated this writing from spanish to english because that’s my first language, so I’m sorry if there are grammatical errors. This is my first fic since I was like… Fourteen… And… Welp, it’s probably really cringey but I’ve been trying my best to write in a coherent way... I hope you like it!

**1898**

Everything started when Cyrus, her ex lover, showed up at her house.

It was already a couple years since the siblings Joy and Tommy Collins lived alone. Their parents passed away from tuberculosis leaving their older daughter in the care of their small farm and her younger brother.

Joy had no choice but to become a mother for Tommy, doing everything possible so that they both would survive. Thomas’ birth was welcome but unexpected news for the Collins. Joy was fourteen years old when the little one came into the world and even though in the moment it was already a reason for joy, now, nine years later she couldn’t imagine her life without helping him get on her mare every morning, fighting in the mud after a day of rain or singing him a lullaby at bedtime while stroking his copper curls.

The girl occasionally went to Valentine to sell or buy provisions and have a drink at the saloon, even spending a night with some attractive man every now and then. Sometimes she even yearned for some of the women who were hanging around, but she had never dared to speak to any of them. However, since the death of her parents, those night escapes had ended.

Her most recent lover had been Cyrus Kimble, the man who had knocked on her door that night. He was a tall fellow with sharp features and light blue eyes. His gaze had been kind at first but as soon as Joy started cutting her relationship with him, -partly because of her duties with the farm and Tommy, partly because she had begun to notice a certain possessiveness that she didn’t like at all-, Cyrus started to show his true nature. When he saw her in Valentine he followed her, sometimes crying, other times demanding. Occasionally, like this time, he would show up at her farm begging her to come back with him.

However this night he didn’t beg. He pounded on the door, yelling for her to open it. Tommy had just finished braiding her long reddish hair when the banging began. With a tired grunt, Joy got up and opened the door reluctantly.

“What do you want, Cyrus? I’ve already told you-” A heavy silence formed as she realized she was being pointed at by a revolver. She looked him in the eye and he just stared back at her with an emotion she couldn’t identify. She swallowed hard. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to free you, Joy. You won’t have to take care of your farm or your brother. You can stay with me, nothing will stop you.” A smile formed on the man’s face, more to himself than to her. He tugged on her arm and pulled her away from the door. “Guys!” he yelled, without letting go or stop aiming at her. Two men appeared in the dark and began to tie her hands. She didn’t try to resist but took advantage of Cyrus’s confidence at the moment to ram him with her shoulder, causing him to lose his balance and shoot up. Without losing time, she bit his ear. Quickly, Kimble’s men pulled her away from him and pinned her to the ground, using the opportunity to tie her legs. Joy spat out Cyrus’ blood as he gasped, being assisted by a third man.

“Damn whore!”

“Tommy! Tommy! Take Berry and run!” she screeched, trying to turn to look at her house, but a blow knocked her unconscious.

“Fuck… I’ll carry her on my horse… Elijah, James, burn down the house and the barn, Jasper, be sure to kill the boy.”

Tommy had seen everything from the window of the house and as soon as he heard that he didn’t hesitate to run to the back door and go for Berry, his sister’s mare.

“He ain’t here!” he heard Jasper say. “Of course he’s not idiot, he just ran out to the barn!” his partner replied. The boy didn’t even think about saddling, he climbed onto a stool, mounted Berry without any hesitation and left the barn riding at a gallop. He looked back and saw that at least one of them was following him. Panicking, he spurred the mare and got a little more ground, but it wasn’t long before his pursuer closed the distance and started shooting. Approaching the Little Creek river he could see a small camp on the other side.

“Help!” he yelled. “Help!” Four figures rose in alarm and at that moment a force outside him caused him to fall from the mount. A throbbing pain shot through his shoulder and his vision blurred as he watched Berry run away.

A few more shots and he heard a scream and a splash in the water. Someone in the distance managed to grab the mare by the bridles and reassure her. A man with slicked back black hair applied pressure to the wound.

“He’s a kid!” he exclaimed, without really addressing him. “"Hold on boy, you’re going to get out of this. The bullet…” At that moment Tommy lost consciousness.

The light of dawn woke him up. Little by little the memories of that night came back to him and he sat up suddenly, disorientated. A scream escaped his lips as he felt a puncture in his left shoulder. Alarmed, he looked down to find it bandaged. Increasingly confused, he looked around, looking for any signs of the men who raided his house.

“Ah, you’re awake.” Commented a large man with a thick beard. “Dutch, the boy has woken up!” he exclaimed turning. A man dressed in an elegant red and black vest with gold chains hanging over it approached the bonfire where his enormous companion and another fellow –a guy with a scar on his chin that wouldn’t let his beard grow at that spot- were sitting around. Tommy recognized him then, he was the man who had picked him up when he fell from Berry. The memory of his mare made him react.

“Berry! Joy!” he tried to get up but the pain was too much.

“Easy, boy.” The man hurried over to him and helped him lie down again. “If you are worried about your mare: she is here, don’t worry. She didn’t go far and Javier managed to reassure her.” He put his hand to his forehead to take his temperature. “Dammit, he’s burning Arthur!”, the guy with the disparate beard nodded. “I’m on it.” He said as he got up with a cloth and approached the river. Dutch gestured to the one standing by the fire and he passed him a canteen for the boy to drink.

Tommy drank the water, grateful. It seemed like weeks since the last time he drank something.

“My… My sister…” he managed to say. “They took her. The men who were chasing me took my sister. It was Cyrus Kimble, he was always after her to go with him but Joy always rejected him. Last night he burned our house and ordered to kill me. I must find her sir, I don’t know what I will do without her.” A sob escaped his throat at the thought of what might have happened to his sister. The man scratched his chin with his hand, rings adorning his fingers.

“Boy, you’re in no condition to do that… you’re not even armed.”

“Help me sir, I beg you…” At that moment Arthur approached with the soaked cloth and placed it on the boy’s forehead. Meanwhile Dutch had fallen into a reflective silence. “Alright.” He answered at last. “Any idea where they may have taken her?”

“Thank you very much sir! I think Joy mentioned that he lived in a cabin around Wallace Station.”

“Arthur, go find Mr. Cyrus Kimbler. Take Javier with you. Bill and I will take the boy to camp, Miss Grimshaw will take better care ofhim than we do.”

The man got up and called Javier, a latino man who was standing guard around the small camp where they had settled. They both got on their horses -an amber champagne Missouri Fox Trotter and a grey overo American Paint- and they went downriver.

Joy had woken up nauseated and with a metallic taste in the mouth. She still had the aftertaste of Cyrus’s blood on her tongue, and the blow to her temple had taken its toll. Furthermore, it seemed that that bite had not been very funny for her captor, since he had gagged her while she was unconscious. When he realized she had woken up, the man approached her.

“Oh, Joy. Why did you have to make everything so difficult? You didn’t want to talk… ” As he spoke, the girl analyzed where she was. She recognized Cyrus’s room, in the cabin in which he lived. She was sitting on the bed. There was a candle on the nightstand, maybe if she got close she could burn the ropes.

He grabbed her neck and pulled up, forcing her to her feet awkwardly. The other hand caressed her cheek. “This could all have been different, honey. We could have been happy… But your brother had to meddle. Luckily, he won’t bother us anymore.”

Anger boiled Joy’s blood. She wanted to head butt him, but the movement only served to unbalance her and Cyrus’s hand tightened on her throat.

It was then when they heard screams and gunshots. They both looked towards the door of the room, startled. Soon they stopped hearing it.

“Elijah! James! What happened?”

Silence.

“Elijah…?”

The door burst open and two men pointed their revolvers at them.

“Who are you?” he exclaimed furiously as he took out his own, pointing it alternately at each one. “What have you done to Elijah and James?”

“Your little friends have run away as soon as we’ve started shooting… Cyrus.” replied the one closer, with brown hair and blue eyes.

“How do you know my name?”

“We only want the girl, her brother is looking for her. You can choose: you let her go or you die here.”

“What…? No! No, no, no! Never! Joy and I will be together forever! Forev-! What’s that smell?” he turned, following the burning smell. The girl had taken advantage of the fact that he had released her neck to walk discreetly to small steps towards the nightstand and to burn enough the cords that tied her wrists so that they would break when trying to separate them. “No! Nooo!” he roared desperately, pouncing on her.

Without wasting time and trying not to lose her balance, she picked up the candle and stabbed it into his eye, pulling him back between squeals. The two men lowered their weapons, the latino whistled in surprise. She hastily removed the rag from her mouth and untied the ankle ties. She stepped over Cyrus and stood in front of her rescuers.

“It seems like you didn’t need our help.” commented the brunette.

“Of course not.” the other agreed.

“Don’t be silly, if you hadn’t appeared he would have-”

“Watch out!” one of them exclaimed, while the other shot in her direction. Frightened, Joy closed her eyes expecting pain but instead she heard a body falling to the ground. She turned and saw Cyrus lying on the ground with a hole in his head. A chill ran down her spine, not because of his death, but because of what he could have done to her if he were still alive.

“It seems he didn’t want to let you go, _ese malnacido_ …” The latino pointed, putting his gun back.

“Miss…” his partner started, not knowing how to continue. She looked back at the corpse, still wondering what that man would have been able to do, before breathing in relief and responding.

“Joy Collins.”

“Miss Joy, I’m Arthur Morgan, this is Javier Escuella.” The man greeted with a nod. “We found your brother being chased by one of Mr. Kimble’s friends on the banks of the Little Creek river. We managed to save him but a bullet hit him in the shoulder. We believe he will survive, but we have moved him to… our camp.”

“It’s okay. I will go with you.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joy has reunited with her little brother thanks to Javier and Arthur but now she has to figure out what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of Alegría! Again, there may be grammatical mistakes because english it’s not my first language. Here appears my second RDR2 OC, Jian. Hope you like it!

The ride to camp lasted more than half a day. Joy went with Javier on his horse. She was so tired she had to force herself not to fall asleep in the back of his companion. When they arrived, the first thing she noticed was a palomino dapple mare, grazing with others of her kind in what seemed to be the makeshift entrance to the place.

As soon as her mount stopped, she hurriedly got off to join Berry. The mare approached her and Joy tenderly stroked her face, occasionally placing a kiss on her and whispering soothing words.

A man approached the entrance.

“Are you little Tommy’s sister?” She raised her head to nod.

“Yes, Joy Collins, sir.”

“Dutch Van der Linde, pleased to meet you. Your brother is fine, let me take you to him.”

She followed nervously. Although she wanted to trust his words, she wouldn’t be calm until she saw Tommy. He was on a cot accompanied by a middle-aged woman who got up when she saw them arrive. Joy rushed over to her knees beside him, stroking his cheek.

“He was shot in the shoulder, but he’s better. His fever has gone down.” The woman explained before addressing Arthur. “We have put him in your tent to make him more comfortable, I hope you don’t mind.”

“No problem, Miss Grimshaw.”

At that moment Tommy woke up.

“Joy?” he tried to sit up but his sister carefully stopped him.

“Shhh, easy… I’m already here, don’t worry.” She said stroking his hair tenderly. “We are fine already.” The boy smiled, relieved, relaxing under the touch of his older sister.

“Thank you very much, sir. For giving my sister back…” he murmured before falling asleep.

“He’s right. Thank you. To all of you.” She looked at each of those present.

“We just did the right thing.” Dutch replied. “We’ll leave you alone for a while.” He said while gesturing to the others to leave, after which he did the same.

Before long she fell asleep leaning on her brother’s bed. Upon realizing it, Miss Grimshaw covered her with a blanket. She woke up at night when a movement beneath her surprised her. Tommy had just gotten up and an asian girl was feeding him.

When the girl noticed, she gave her a shy smile. She put the boy’s plate on her lap and took another from one of the boxes that made as a piece of furniture, handing it to Joy. It was at that moment that she realized that apart from a bit of leathery meat that Javier had offered her along the way, she hadn’t eaten anything since the previous day. She thanked the girl, who continued to feed her brother, and quickly devoured the food. It was nothing to write home about, but she was so hungry that it was delicious. When they finished, the girl gave her another shy smile again.

“I’m Xie Jian. Joy Collins, right? Nice to meet you.”

“Jian has been the one healing me!” Tommy exclaimed cheerfully.

“Really? Thank you, you don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I like to take care of others.”

“Miss Collins, can we talk?” Dutch’s voice caught the attention of those present. Jian gave the girl a reassuring smile and she nodded gratefully before following him.

“Little Tommy has told me that your house has been burned. Do you have relatives who can take you in? Money to rebuild the house?”

“No, unfortunately not, Mr Van der Linde. Our parents were orphaned as children, and my mother’s sister died when I was little. We can’t afford to rebuild it with the money we have.”

“I see… I want to propose something to you, but first I have to confess something about us…”

“You’re criminals.”

“What? No! Of course not!”

“Then why else would you live in a camp armed to the teeth?”

“We are outlaws, not criminals. We steal, yes, but the rich, and we only kill when necessary. We have a code. A plan.” He proudly explained.

“You don’t have to worry about me. You have saved me and my brother, you have been hospitable. It had been a long time since anyone had been so kind to us. I am indebted to you.”

“In that case… would you join our gang? I see courage in your eyes, and that always comes in handy around here. I know you’re in charge of a child, but in the camp he will be safer than anywhere else, surrounded by people who will defend him. You will also be protected, don’t doubt it. Here we’re a family. We only ask you to contribute to our day to day and not give us away under any circumstances.” He concluded his speech.

A family. She already had one: her brother. But they had nowhere to go. And they had saved them.

“…I’m good with horses. I know how to hunt, too.”

“Magnificent! You can call me Dutch, Miss. I’ll ask the girls to accommodate you.” he assured before leaving.

A week had passed since they joined the band. She had quickly fitted into the tasks of the camp. She got along well with Abigail Roberts, Jack’s young mother, Tommy’s new friend, who treated him like a little brother due to the age difference between the two. Abigail was younger than Joy was, and although it was normal to have a child at her age, Joy couldn’t help but feel rejection at the thought of having children of her own. Yes, she had practically adopted the maternal role with her brother, but it wasn’t the same. She couldn’t imagine going through a pregnancy, breastfeeding a baby, or being called “mama”. To tell the truth, it gave her a certain panic. So she admired Abigail’s bravery, raising a child almost on her own.

From her daily discussions with him, she soon guessed that Jack’s father was John Marston, whose husky voice was unintelligible when the dispute began. He didn’t seem like a bad guy, they’d exchanged a couple of words when she’d been feeding his horse, but it bothered her that he didn’t have what it takes to take care of his son.

That was something that scared her of men: their ease of disengagement. Truth be told, in her first two relationships she had been seduced by the promise of something more, but soon realized that it was just a method of getting her to bed. Since then she had only allowed herself sporadic love affairs with which to satisfy her needs.

And certainly, after the stress of the last week, she needed to satiate them, but with what had happened with Cyrus she felt insecure about going to the nearest town to try her luck. And with the boys from the camp it would be weird, considering that she was going to live with them for a time. Also, the person who caught her attention there wasn’t a boy. Her name was Mary-Beth Gaskill. All the girls were nice, but Mary-Beth was so sweet and so kind to her that right now Joy had no room in her head to think of someone else like that.

It was noon and she was one of the last to get a plate of stew. She sat next to the main fire and began to eat. On the other side of the fire was Javier, finishing his plate.

“How do you adapt, Joy? Do you enjoy the life of the outlaw?” He asked nonchalantly. Joy couldn’t contain a half smile.

“Yes, really exciting feeding chickens and grooming horses.” she replied sarcastically. Javier laughed. “Your horse was called Boaz, wasn’t he? He doesn’t like people very much, but I think we are starting to get along.” She said proudly.

“Are you sure? He doesn’t even let Arthur pet him.”

“Trust me, one more day and we will be such friends that you will be envious.”

“Okay.” He laughed, blowing air out of his nose. “What about the girls?”

“Oh, good. Karen came with me yesterday to buy me a revolver. Tilly, Jenny and Jian are nice, but Daniela is a little scary, she has a strong character…”

There was a silence as she began to think of Mary-Beth.

“And… Mary-Beth?” He inquired.

“What? Mary-Beth? What about Mary-Beth?” She shifted nervously on the spot.

“Eh, nothing, I was just asking.” He said confused.

“Ah, well, Mary-Beth is…” She felt her cheeks burn. People had always told her that she turned red very easily when she was nervous and she wished with all her strength that Javier didn’t notice. She sighed noticeably.

“…Ah…” He began to understand. “So… You… Ah…” He shifted uncomfortably in his place. It wasn’t something he expected, but her reaction said it all and he wasn’t stupid. Joy fell silent, uncomfortable too.

“The truth is… I had never spoken to anyone about… This.”

“Don’t worry. We’re not the best ones to judge here. Outlaws, remember?” He tried to reassure her. He watched her shoulders relax so he guessed he did. He realized something. “Now I understand better what happened with Kimbler.”

“What?” Joy looked at him confused.

“Tommy told Dutch that you always rejected him. That was why, wasn’t it?”

“Ah… The truth is, no. I had an affair with him when my parents were still alive. He was kind but I had made it clear that I didn’t want anything serious. When my parents died I only had time for Tommy and the farm so I guess…” She sighed heavily, clenching her fists. “I guess that’s why he tried to kill him.” She fell into a pensive silence. “I also like men. I’m attracted to both, it’s not something I control. Although with my experience with men sometimes I wish I only liked women.” She gave a tired smile. Javier nodded silently. She broke it. “I’ll bet you five bucks that tomorrow I can get Boaz not to run away from me.” She proposed mischievously.

“Yes?” He looked into her eyes with a smile. “I accept.”

“Great.” She got up with a smile and went to wash her plate.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joy being joyful. Also she does her first job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here appears my third RDR2 OC, Daniela. Hope you like it!

“Hey, Joy.”

“Hi, Daniela.” She replied as she left a hay bale next to the horses.

Daniela was a cuban woman, a little older than her, perhaps she was around twenty-nine or thirty. She mostly cooked and washed clothes, but sometimes she went out to steal. She spent the day arguing with Miss Grimshaw, but unlike the other girls (Joy included), Grimshaw never raised a hand to her. They had a strange respect for each other despite fighting all day. It was this what made Joy feel a little scared every time they spoke.

“You won’t stop moving around camp. Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to wear pants?”

Joy looked at her in surprise, she definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Err… Yes, I have always thought about buying some but I have never had the courage.”

“ _Boberías_. I don’t use mine much here but I usually wear them for robberies and let me tell you they are very comfortable. Now I was going to take Altagracia to town to go buy some new ones.” She said while patting affectionately the neck of her mare, a red dapple Tennessee Walker. “You comin’?”

She blinked, confused, before showing a wide smile.

“’Course!”

“Good.” she replied getting on her horse. Joy excitedly rushed to ride Berry. She had been given a spare saddle as in the incident on the farm her brother had been unable to saddle her before fleeing.

Abigail passed near the horses. “Hey, Abby! Can you tell Tommy I’m going to town?”

“Yes!” She said waving goodbye.

“Thank you!”

They both rode to town.

“Do you want to do your first job?” Daniela asked. She was ahead of her and had to raise her voice for her partner to hear her.

“Yes! Why not?” She exclaimed more and more excited. “What’s the plan?”

“Yesterday a big fish from Saint Denis came to town. I think he wants to open a gun store taking advantage of the fact that this is a very busy place of passage. The thing is this man has two big hobbies apart from money: drinking and women.”

“Ohhh, I see what you mean.”

“Exactly! If we can get him drunk enough, stealing from him will be a piece of cake.” She concluded confidently.

“Let’s try then!”

When they reached the village, they left the horses at the mooring in front of the tavern. They entered and it wasn’t difficult to locate the subject they were looking for: he was leaning against the bar and wearing elegant and high-quality clothing. He seemed a little drunk. Each of them groomed as they could -Joy untied her hair and Daniela lowered the sleeves of her shirt, exposing her shoulders- and together they went to talk to their prey.

They introduced themselves, suggesting, and the man quickly followed suit, glad to receive attention. Taking advantage of this, they soon emboldened: As Joy was talking to him, Daniela had hugged him, managing to sneakily take out the hundred dollars that he kept in the inside pocket of his jacket. In another oversight, Joy was able to remove his gold watch.

The man apologized, rushing out the back door -probably about to throw up- and the girls took the opportunity to leave the saloon and finally go to the store, where they bought three pants, two shirts -one of them for Tommy- and a bag of goodies -for Jack and Tommy-.

Joy was euphoric, it was her first robbery and it had turned out perfect, nobody had noticed and they also had money left over.

“At first I was sorry for him, but as soon as he started to tell us how he had gotten the money, I wasn’t.” She said with a giggle as she left the watch in the donation box and wrote down her name in the ledger.

“ _Cabrón_. I have never met a rich man who wasn’t shady. Soon you won’t feel sorry for any of them.” Daniela commented sarcastically.

“I had a great time Dani, thank you for taking me with you.” She was so happy that she hugged her and, saying goodbye she ran to give the treats to her brother, leaving her new friend stunned, she wasn’t expecting so much affection.

“You came back! Next time take me with you!” Tommy huffed annoyed. He was finishing dinner with Abigail and Jack.

“Sorry, it was unexpected, but I brought you a new shirt, I left it in our trunk.” She said kissing him on the forehead. “Also… Ta-dah! I’ve brought goodies for you.” The children gave a little cry of joy as Joy handed them the bag. “Share.” They thanked her and ran to eat them in the tent that the younger shared with his mother.

“Thank you Joy.” Abigail said. “How about in town? You seem happy.”

“Daniela and I have robbed a rich man! It was fun.”

“Oh, tell me.” Joy took a plate of stew and while she ate she told her in great detail everything that had happened to them in that saloon. Javier sat at the table with his guitar. He greeted them and played absentmindedly. Finally Abigail went to her tent to put Jack to bed, the signal to Tommy that he should go to his bedroll.

“So your first robbery, huh?” Javier commented.

“Yes, it was very exciting!”

“Take this.” He said pouring her a drink. “We have to celebrate it.”

Joy gladly accepted the cup.

“Ah, you do know how to cheer up a woman.” She winked at him.

“’Course I know! In each town I have them all at my feet.” He replied mischievously.

“Pfff, how cocky. Maybe you would have me at your feet if you gave me the five dollars you owe me.” Joy blurted out laughing. Javier rolled his eyes, took the money out of his pocket and gave it to her.

“A pleasure to do business with you.” She cooed.

“Any suggestions?” He asked gesturing to his guitar.

“I don’t know. Something cheerful.” Javier thought a moment before starting to play. Joy giggled.

“ _The Louisville Maid_!” she exclaimed amused. Javier smiled at her while still playing, looking into her eyes. Joy cleared her throat and began to sing it, gesturing and emphasizing the lyrics when necessary. When the song ended, she laughed out loud. Javier looked at her with amusement.

“What a show. Have a nice voice too.”

“Thank you Mr. Escuella!”

“You really are happy, huh?”

Joy replied with another giggle.

“My name is Joy for a reason. My mother used to say that more than crying, I was born laughing.” She paused. "The truth is that it’s been a long time since I had such a good time. Today was a good day.”

“I’m glad then.”

“It… It wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for you. I know…” She swallowed. “I know I already said this but… Thank you very much. For saving my brother, for saving me. You… You were the one who killed Cyrus… I’m really grateful to you. I don’t know how to explain it but… I was relieved you know? He was harassing me for more than three years, I didn’t know what to do. So… Really. Thank you.”

Javier was speechless. He didn’t expect that, not at a time like this, when the atmosphere was cheerful. A warm sensation ran through his body and he couldn’t help placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“I’m happy to have been able to help.” The smile Joy gave her was beautiful and genuine. He liked that smile.

“I should go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day of work.” she said getting up.

“See you tomorrow.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Javier takes Joy on a mission and they end up alone in a cabin.

The months followed one another and Joy and Tommy had found their place in the gang, just as they had learned to know their members. Tommy would help Jian to collect plants and also helped look after Jack and played with him. Sometimes he accompanied Javier to fish, after he realized the boy's interest in an old fishing rod he had found in a cart.

Joy apart from working with the horses also stood guard at the camp. She occasionally went hunting but what she really did more frequently was go with the girls to the nearest town to find information or for some pickpocketing. The only girl who never went with them was Jian, she seemed to dislike the idea too much and was content to stay sewing at camp. Mary-Beth accompanied her in her first thefts and advised her. Once she helped Joy put rouge on her lips to seduce a man and she almost fell back from how nervous she was at the feel of her gaze on her mouth.

She had just finished brushing and braiding Berry's tail -she thought it gave her a touch that went well with the mare's personality- when Javier approached her.

"I have already given you what I owe you." She said suspecting, to which he replied with a laugh. It had become a habit between them to bet five dollars for anything and they had reached a point where they were passing the same bill all the time.

“I'm not here for that. I wanted to suggest you come with Sean, Bill and me to steal a stagecoach. Jenny is busy and we need a damsel in distress.”

“Okay, sounds good. What’s the plan?”

“You pretend to be hurt along the way and when they stop to help you we show up and threaten them to give us the money.”

“Consider it done. I’ll get dressed.” She walked away to her tent and prepared the clothes to change.

The four rode together to the point where the stagecoach was to pass. Joy moved to the side of the road and the boys went into hiding, taking Berry with them.

“Good luck Joy. If any of those men try to seduce you, tell them that your heart already belongs to Sean MacGuire.” said the above winking at her before leaving. Joy rolled her eyes although the comment amused her. Sean was like that, he tried to flirt with all the girls but in the end he was more harmless than anything else. The first few times he did that she felt awkward but soon realized that he wasn't really serious about it. Although she had a suspicion that if the case arose, he wouldn’t refuse either.

The stagecoach appeared as planned and she stepped out on the road for help. As soon as she saw the boys appear from behind to surround them, she discreetly pulled out her revolver.

“Please! Could you… give me all your money?” she said aiming at them. Bill got into the stagecoach and started searching. Everything was going well until suddenly several riders appeared from behind and started shooting at them.

“What the hell?” exclaimed Sean shooting them back. Bill kept what he could get in his satchel and Javier whistled calling the horses. They all quickly mounted theirs and fled.

“Let’s split up!” Shouted Bill when a bullet threw his hat away. They all agreed and Joy soon lost sight of him and Sean. Although they had gained ground and many of their pursuers had gone after their companions, she and Javier still had a couple of them behind. Luckily they lost them for a moment and found an abandoned cabin, after shooing their horses away they went inside.

It was late. The sun was setting and it was better not to tempt luck by going out.

“We should spend the night here. When it’s dawn we will return to the camp but in the meantime we should take turns to stand guard by the window.” Javier said. Joy tugged on her skirt to position it better, uncomfortable. She had become too used to wearing pants.

“Okay. But you start.” She smiled and got up. Javier huffed and moved to the side of the window as she began to inspect the cabin. It seemed like it had been abandoned for a long time, the dust covered everything. It wasn’t very large, but consisted of a small room in which the bedroom was located. She went in and opened the drawer of the nightstand and what she discovered filled her with joy. She took the objects and ran to the door of the room.

“Looks like they left behind some jewelry!” She looked up at him, wiggling her eyebrows as she showed him a necklace and a pair of earrings that seemed quite expensive.

“I'm glad. At least that will fix the stagecoach mess.”

“It wasn't that disastrous, we got money just the same.”

“Yeah, but we almost died for, what? A hundred dollars? My intel said there would be at least five hundred.” He sighed.

“…You’re right then.” She admitted. She put the jewelry in her satchel and continued to examine the house. Javier's stomach growled and Joy gave him an amused look. “Are you hungry?”

He shifted somewhat embarrassed in his seat before nodding. She pulled two cans of peaches out of her bag and handed him one. He accepted it and lifted it up a bit in thanks. Joy replied with a smile and watched as he opened the can with one of his knives. His hands had small scars and some recent scratches, but still retained elegance.

“I’m curious, how long have you been in the gang and how did you end up in it?” She asked before shoving a slice into her mouth.

“About three years. Dutch and I ran into each other trying to steal some chickens. We laughed and he gave me a place in the gang. The chickens we have? We brought them.”

“Can’t be. Really?” Joy laughed. “What were you doing stealing chickens?”

“When I got here I didn't know any English. I was starving and nobody cared. So I ended up trying to steal to survive.”

“If you were so bad here, why did you leave Mexico?” She pointed out curiously. He snorted.

“I killed a man. An important one. If I had stayed they would have killed everyone I love.”

Joy was speechless and Javier returned his attention to the landscape behind the window.

“Why did you do something like that…?” She whispered, overwhelmed. He gave her a bitter smile.

“Because of a woman.” She opened her mouth, surprised, but said nothing. “The reason wasn’t only that, but yes, she played an important part.” He paused, but it lengthened into an uncomfortable silence. Joy could see how he searched for the words trying to add something.

“You don't have to talk about it if you don't feel comfortable...”

“No… I think I should let it out…” He sighed. “We were lovers and I was crazy for her. But in the end she chose. And she chose him. I thought she loved me but I was wrong, and I got angry. She chose a military man from the government, _un bastardo corrupto_. But what hurt the most is that he hit her. He treated her like garbage. I didn’t understand why. I still don’t understand why…” He tightened his hand around the can and swallowed hard. It was then that Joy realized he was holding back the urge to cry. Gingerly she got up and sat next to him, clumsily putting her hand over his. “I guess I’m not done getting over it. I have spent nights with other girls but... Sometimes I think that I will never love anyone like her.”

She sighed. She felt a little identified with what he felt.

“I may not understand half of what you feel but... I do am afraid of being with a person. It’s not the same, I have never been in love... But I have been hopeful. And I understand the fear of being used, of not being enough. And I want to believe that everything will come. But first you have to heal.” She gave him a soft smile and he swallowed again. He snorted and smiled back.

“Thanks Joy. I’m sorry I let go of all this.”

She laughed.

“I was the one who asked.”

At dawn they returned to camp as planned. Joy was happy, she felt closer to Javier after this and she liked having a new friend. Not that they weren't friends before, but for her, such an intimate conversation had been the confirmation she needed.


End file.
